THEY were, said one commentator close to the Kremlin, “like lovers on a first date”.

Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin, explained Sergey Markov, looked “very intense” as they sat awkwardly for photos ahead of their first full bilateral meeting, in Helsinki, Finland. “They’re not evening looking at each other,” the pundit added.

And so began borderline creepy cliches of a bromance between the presidents of America and Russia. After just four hours of what US Democrats on Twitter dubbed the #treasonsummit it was clear this was no mere flirtation: this was an all-out love-in.

Because what started with a nervous short handshake and a wink over a small bowl of white flowers ended with Mr Trump effectively siding with his former KGB officer counterpart over his own intelligence agencies.

Last week the United States Department of Justice indicted 12 named officers in Russia’s military intelligence service, GRU, for hacking Mr Trump’s Democratic opponents.

The cyber operation, part of a larger campaign of Kremlin propaganda and disinformation, began on the very day Mr Trump used an election rally in 2016 to urge “Russia” to look for missing emails of his adversary, former Secretary of State and Putin critic Hillary Clinton.

America says Russia meddled. Russia says it did not. “Who do you believe?” Mr Trump was asked by the Associated Press wire agency at the joint press conference which followed the talks. Would the commander-in-chief use the opportunity he had to rebuke Mr Putin in person for trying to interfere in US democracy?

Mr Trump’s response sent a shiver of shock through American justice, security and political elites. “I have President Putin, “ he said, standing next to his counterparts against a sea of stars and stripes and Russian tricolours. “He just said it’s not Russia. I will say this: I don’t see any reason why it would be.”

Then the same questioner, in English, asked Mr Putin if he had “compromising materials” - embarrassing information usually called “kompromat” in the jargon of Soviet secret agencies - on Mr Trump or his family.

The American president smiled first. Seconds later, Mr Putin, listening to translation caught up too and laughed. “It’s hard to imagine greater nonsense. “ the Russian said. “Please throw this junk out of your head.”

Mr Putin’s logic? He did not even know Mr Trump when he visited Russia before the American decided to go in to politics. So how could he set up some kind of sting? Commentators have openly speculated that the Kremlin had something over Mr Trump. This is denied by both sides.

The Russian president, meanwhile, does not deny being partial in 2016. “I wanted him to win”, he said of Mr Trump. Why? Because, he said, he thought Mr Trump would be better for Russian-American relations than Ms Clinton, who had repeated clashed with the Kremlin on issues like Syria.

Mr Trump did not, as some Western voices had feared, endorse Mr Putin’s annexation of Ukraine’s Crimea peninsula. But he praised way Russia had run this month’s World Cup.

A delighted Mr Putin presented him with a football. Beaming Mr Trump accepted the gift before tossing it to his wife, Melania, who was in the audience, to give to his son Barron.

The Herald:

Melania Trump with World Cup ball

“If it were me, I’d check the soccer ball for listening devices and never allow it in the White House, “ Trump friend and Republican senator Lyndsey Graham tweeted as he watched. “It was a bad day for the US”.

Republicans - largely- admit Mr Putin’s Russia tried to help get Mr Trump elected. But, stressed Mr Graham, they don’t see any evidence Mr Trump colluded with that effort.

Another Republican, John Cornyn, added: “I don’t think we should be taking a former KGB colonel’s word for what their intelligence apparatus is doing or not doing.”

The Americans do not even know for sure what was said during much of the meeting. Mr Trump met Mr Putin with just a translator, a woman now said to be being debriefed by US officials. Mr Putin, Mr Trump said ,has suggested an “interesting idea” about what had happened with the hacking, Mr Trump said. What was that idea? He did not elaborate.

A correspondent for the US cable network CNN - dismissed by Mr Trump as “fake news” reached out for reaction to what it called a senior White House staffer. The reply summed up the American mood: “How bad was that?”

The Herald:

Donald Trump

So what did Mr Trump and Mr Putin talk about?

RELATIONS between Russia and America have never been worse, declared Donald Trump. Or they were "until four hours ago".
The American president, speaking after his first full one-on-one summit with Vladimir Putin. He looked like a man who thought he had made an international breakthrough. 
But what did the two men talk about? Their remarks afterwards confirmed they did discuss the ongoing investigation in to whether Mr Trump's campaign colluded with Russia during 2016 presidential election. 

Mr Putin said: "I had to repeat that the Russian state never interfered, and does not plan to interfere in internal American electoral process."
Mr Trump was more forthright. The investigation, he said, has been a "disaster" for the United States and has kept America and Russia "separated".

The Herald:
Vladimir Putin

But they covered more than just the issue that dominated US political life.
Mr Trump told the press conference that the United States and Russia must find ways to "co-operate in pursuit of shared interests". The US leader said a productive dialogue between America and Russia is good for both countries and "is good for the world".

On specifics, Mr Putin said he and Mr Trump have agreed to continue detailed discussions on arms control issues. He added that Russia and the US should discuss a possible extension of the 2010 New START nuclear arms reduction treaty and the implementation of the 1987 Intermediate Nuclear Forces Treaty.

Mr Putin added that other issues that Russia would like to discuss in the arms control sphere are the US missile defence plans and the weaponisation of space.

The two leaders also said they were exploring ways to protect Israel from conflict raging near its border in Syria.

There was no commitment to any specific actions, but both said that ensuring Israel's security was a priority.

Israel is deeply concerned about Iran's presence in Syria, where Iranian forces and proxies have been fighting on behalf of the Syrian government, which is also supported by Russia.

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has appealed to both Mr Trump and Mr Putin to eliminate the Iranian presence, which the Jewish state regards as an existential threat.

On the question of nuclear tensions on the Korean peninsula, Mr Putin praised the US leader over efforts to resolve difficulties with North Korea.
Mr Putin added said: "It's good that the gradual resolution of the problem of the Korean peninsula has begun."

He continued, saying: "In many respects, this became possible due to the fact that President Trump personally got involved in the resolution, building dialogue in the spirit of co-operation, not confrontation."

Mr Putin brought a pad and pen to the meeting. Mr Trump did not.